Mr. Neesemann was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1940. He obtained his undergraduate degree in Philosophy from Princeton University (A.B., cum laude ) in 1963. After serving as an infantry officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, he graduated from the University of Maryland School of Law (J.D., Order of the Coif) in 1969. He moved to New York, and after practicing for seven years in the litigation department of Sullivan & Cromwell, he helped found Parker Auspitz Neesemann & Delehanty, a firm specializing in litigation, in 1977. He joined Morrison & Foerster as a partner in 1987. Until 1993, he led the Litigation Group in Morrison & Foerster's New York office.

For most of his career Mr. Neesemann prosecuted and defended complex business cases in court and in arbitration. Recognizing the significant savings and other benefits to clients from alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures such as arbitration and mediation, he came to focus his practice on acting as an advocate or as a neutral in the process of resolving cases. Since being diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, he has concentrated on acting as an arbitrator or mediator in commercial cases. His cases have involved a broad spectrum of legal areas, including breach of contract, intellectual property (patents, trademarks, unfair competition, trade secrets), employment, securities, insurance coverage and construction.

In the field of intellectual property, Mr. Neesemann has litigated patent cases in the biotechnology and electronics areas, and handled cases involving trademarks and unfair competition in the airline, telecommunications, and automotive industries. In the area of securities litigation, he has defended leading investment banking and accounting firms in class actions. He has represented a major insurance carrier in ERISA and coverage cases, the sellers in litigation over the sale of a large company, and a prime contractor in subcontractor litigation and litigation against the City of New York. He has represented major telecommunications, publishing, and accounting companies and firms in contract litigation and arbitration.

Mr. Neesemann is Co-Chair of the Arbitration and ADR Committee of the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section of the New York State Bar Association and Former Chair of the Arbitration Committees of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and the Dispute Resolution Section of the American Bar Association. He is a member of the Panel of Commercial Arbitrators of the American Arbitration Association and of the Panel of Distinguished Neutrals of the CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution.

He is a Fellow of the College of Commercial Arbitrators and a member of the Advisory Board for the Revised Uniform Arbitration Act of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. He was also a member of CPR's Commission on the future of arbitration.